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While the Rising Star Acrobatic Club just had a 12-19-year-old group return from the World Age Group Championships in Wroclaw, Poland, the team also has pairs and groups competing at the 2010 National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla., Saturday, July 24, to Wednesday, July 28.

“Over the weekend we had great news, since our junior elite 12-19 group (MacKenzie Porter, Chelcea Riegel and Krissy Weidmaier) was chosen to represent the United States at the World Championships. They were chosen for the 2010-11 12-19 team also,” Linda Porter said. “Even though they didn’t compete here they were given that honor. Our 11-16 team (Halie Kimmel, Kelli Weidmaier and Mariah Wilkin) that had made the team in December had to try out again, and they were selected. Again, we will have six members on the national team. We are really excited about that.”

Anyone who has followed the Kearney Purple Wave swim team this year knows the damage Elias Amparano has done in the water. He continued his sterling summer season with a dominant performance in the finals of the Northland Conference Championships at Springs Aquatic Center on Thursday, July 22.

Amparano won three individual events and was part of two winning relays as the Purple Wave finished in third place behind Riss Lake — which won for the third straight year — and New Mark.

“This was the third year in a row,” Purple Wave coach Nancy Mabrey said. “The kids swam really well and we were pleased. Going into the meet, we were trying to judge where we were compared to the other teams, and we weren’t sure we were actually going to finish in that position. We thought maybe we would finish fourth.

Ted Graves is finally coming home.

For more than 25 years, Graves has lived in Liberty. Now he has the chance to do the one thing he’s always wanted to do — coach high school athletes in his home town.

“I’ve always thought in the back of my mind that it would be great getting into the Liberty district,” Graves said. “Better late than never.”

Shane Woods experienced something few players ever get the chance to when he played with the Kansas City Wizards U16 junior team two years ago. So when the call did not come to rejoin the team the following year, Woods was understandably down.

“I just sat and sat and waited for a phone call that never came,” said Woods, who will be a junior this fall at Kearney. “It broke my heart as I just sat there and waited. No phone call came. I was just so out of it. I thought, ‘Now I have to go tryout for another team.’”

No one would have blamed him if he decided it just was not for him anymore.